St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-08

that especial stock or land stock or any
other writing or instrument whatsoever
issued by any railroad company shall be
held to be within the free view of this
acto subject to taxation. The railroad
companies were required to report to the
land commission or auditor conveyances
of any such lands in sixty days there
after or for any that had been pre-
vi0usly sold sixty days after the passage
OF the act under penalty of forfeiting
threir charters. But to the seventh sec
ton or this act special attention is in
vited. 1t provided that ''Any of such
lands sold prior to the 1st day of Janu-
airy, 1887, to actual settlers, who use the
same for farm purposes, etc., all taxes
for which said lands might be liable
prior to such purchase shall not be
lien upon said lands.'
Following this comes chapter 129, en-
titled an act to relieve settlers land
others from payment of certain back
taxes. One of the remarkable features
OF this bill is that it purports to be a
measure to relieve settlers, when neither
OF these words occur any where in the
act, except in the title. If the settlers
and the railroads joined their forces to
obtain from the legislature relief from
black taxes" the settlers got badly
cleft" and are in the fix that the negro
was who went in ''cahoots" with his
young master on hunting expedition.
The negro furnished his yellow dog and
the young master the gun. The yellow
dog freed the coon and the young mas
ter shot it and carried it home, and the
negro got the ''cahoots'' for his part of
the game. So the settlers furnished
their enticing name in the title but the
railroads got all there was in the body
OF the act. If there is any ''settler' ON
or purchaser" of any of these lands
that were engaged in the procuring of
the passage of this act they ought to
speak out in writing and claim their
part of the benefits to which
they are entitled. If the act is
as used in section should be inter-
preted to mean the same as ''actual set
TIERS" as used in section Z of the pre-
ViOuS act, instead of benefting the !'set-
tiers" it depriveS them of the relief ex-
tended to them in that section of the
previous act. 1t will be seen in section
2 of the last act that it is only the taxes
upon the lands in the swamp land grant
''fOr years prior to the time when said
lands were sold or contracted to be sold
by said company, held and owned by
actual purchasers" that are RENTED.
1.-The taxes on said lands so purchased
W. 'eeiN company oiAd Vo1iSO w oSluul
purchasers are to be levied and assessed
upon said lands in the hands of such
purchasers for the years subsequent to
the sale or contract for sale of said lands
by said company to said purchaser" If
| understand the terms of the land grant
they were exempt from taxation while
owned by the railroad, but were taxable
after they were sold. By the terms of
this act, therefore, the taxes on lands
not taxable are remitted, and those con-
tracted to be sold are put on the tax
list for all years subsequent to such sale.
1t seems to me that even Sargt. Buzfus
would give it as his opinion that there is
no relief in this act to either settlers
or purchasers for ''back taxes" or any
thing else.
If proof aliunde were admissible to
show that the members of the last legiS-
lature knew nothing of the provisions
OF this bill as they now appear, it might
be shown that opposition to monopolieS
and railroads was the pride and boast of
three-fourthS of its members, Every
body will be ready to impure. 'sWhere
was the Sage of Nininger' when this
when this ubiquitous measure was pass
ing through the hOuSe?" The questions
involved are of great moment to the
people of the whole state. / shall be
greatly disappointed if our able and
vigilant attorney general shall permit
this act to go into effect unchallenged in
the courts. T. Z. A.